Yesterday's Heat

I didn't think the sun would stay,

I trusted in the cloud.

I spent the long, bright hours away,

my thoughts adrift and proud.

But now my arm, a tender blush,

a warning on my skin.

A sudden, painful, scarlet rush,

where carelessness had been.

The edge of the sleeve, a faint line,

where protection gave way.

A foolish, bright, and foolish sign

of what I did that day.

And later still, when heat subsides,

a flaking will begin.

Like tiny flags, where peeling hides

the damage deep within.